The cumulative value of mergers & acquisitions in the medical device space jumped nearly 50% during the 1st half of 2016, even as the total number of deals fell at a double-digit clip, according to MergerMarket.
There were some 394 deals worth a total of $74.5 billion during H1 2016, according to the report, marking a -14.5% decline in the number of deals but a 45.5% spike in their value, compared with H1 2015.
Most of the surge in M&A value came from the latest medtech blockbuster, the pending, $29.9 billion union of Abbott (NYSE:ABT) and St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) – accounting for 40.1% of the total value of medtech deals during the half.
The pharmaceutical sector accounted for the bulk of the activity in the pharma/medtech/biotech space, claiming a 50.8% share, but posted declines in both volume and value, according to the report. There were 162 deals worth $83.2 billion during the half, down -12.4% and -34.4%, respectively, compared with the same period last year. And another megadeal, the $35.2 billion buyout of Baxter (NYSE:BAX) spinout Baxalta (NYSE: BXLT) by Shire (NSDQ:SHPGY), accounted for 42.3% of the total deal value in pharma transactions.
Biotech put up the remaining 3.7% of the M&A market share and was the lone sector of the trio to post increases in both value and volume, with 75 deals worth $6.1 billion. That marks a 7.1% increase in the number of deals and a 35.6% increase in their value, according to the report.
